The ECE is thorough enough that even safety stickers are tested to see if they reflect enough light. The ECE penetration test is rigorous as the ECE tests many different parts of the helmet to see how well it stands up to impact in different places on the shell. The chin guard is tested against impact as part of the penetration tests.
The ECE tests also involve testing the chin strap by using a testing machine to jerk the helmet backward, with the helmet passing if the strap does not break or fall off. The ECE also tests the face shield for durability and whether it interferes with vision. The BSI is a separate British certification that is less well-known but still relevant. Some of the measurements that the BSI considers minimum for a helmet to pass are the same as what the Snell Foundation uses.
With SHARP tests, a customer can differentiate between the best helmets and those that are merely good enough. SHARP impact tests occur at three different speeds. The helmets are tested against pointed as well as flat surfaces. Because of the quality of the tests performed and the star rating system, the SHARP system might be the best.
You may be able to use the SHARP ratings to differentiate between two helmets that both pass another test. FIM must approve any helmets used in the world championship level races. Helmets in Europe are more likely to have ECE stickers. They are optional higher-end tests. In the United States, the Snell certification is the current favorite for high-end helmets and racing helmets.
Many companies also make slightly different helmets for the European market and the North American market. A helmet sometimes needs to be changed to pass different testing standards. The two standards are not interchangeable — at least in theory, it is not legal to sell a helmet that is certified by the ECE but not by the DOT in the United States.
Since riders cannot be expected to wear absurdly thick and bulky or unreasonably expensive helmets, stricter standards are not always better. The typical rider would not be willing to pay the price of an FIM-certified helmet. One could argue that the standard American DOT standards are too lenient and should be made stricter.
A significant flaw in the DOT certification is that manufacturers can test their own helmets themselves and state they meet the standard. This is not true for Snell Foundation tests, which are never done by manufacturers. Manufacturers being allowed to test their own helmets could create the risk of less than objective results.
On another level, it is not necessarily true that DOT standards are too lenient. If a company tests their helmets honestly, a bad helmet will fail a DOT test. Motorcycles are almost always more dangerous than cars, even if there are many ways to reduce the risks.
Riders die in a much higher percentage of accidents than in automobile crashes. While people can recover from broken bones, a brain injury can be permanent.
A helmet can save your life — it will not always save you, but hopefully it can turn a fatal blow into a temporary injury. Sometimes, a relatively weak impact can cause a lasting injury, brain injury is a very complex subject.
There are many types of head injuries that you might suffer if you get in an accident. You might suffer from a concussion usually something you fully recover from, but not always or a contusion bleeding and bruising inside the brain, which sounds severe, but can be fully recovered from much of the time.
Another type of brain injury is a Diffuse Axonal Injury. If your head moves faster than your brain during an impact, nerves may tear. When nerve tissue tears inside your brain, chemicals can be released, which may do further harm. These injuries can lead to permanent disability, but many people manage to recover partly or mostly. Many people can gradually learn to live with the problems their brain injury causes. There are also often fatal penetration injuries, where an object pierces the skull and enters the brain.
As is the case for other types of injuries, some people are luckier than others and can mostly or fully recover. Penetration injuries are not common in motorcycle crashes; injuries from blunt impact are more commonplace. All the different motorcycle helmet certification tests take resistance to impact seriously. Should you stop wearing DOT-only helmets after I reading that the testing and certification is a self-certification by the manufacturer and not by the DOT?
What are your thoughts on motorcycle helmet safety standards, do you care which body tests and certifies your helmet? First, it is a common mistake to believe that the DOT approves helmets, they do not! There are many things besides what safety standards a helmet meet that goes into having a safe helmet and protecting you in a crash.
Two of the most important things are a proper fit and the amount of coverage the helmet provides. Snell certification involves more rigorous and more extensive testing which would suggest it is the better motorcycle helmet standard.
ECE certification is the most up-to-date current standard and it is recognized in most countries. The Snell Memorial Foundation standard requires multiple impact resistance in the same location. Many other testing organizations believe that this is overkill by Snell as it does not reflect real-world circumstances. They point out that in a crash it is very unlikely that a motorcyclist would hit their head and have multiple impacts in the exact same location on the helmet.
The ECE tests for additional areas of helmet performance and general helmet robustness that the DOT standard does not consider. Skip to content. Which Helmet Standard is the Best? Michael Parrotte. Share your friends. Share on facebook. Share on email. Share on reddit. Share on pinterest. Share on twitter. Share on linkedin. Which is best? Department of Transportation establishes the legal federal standard for Motorcycle helmets for use on public roads and property in the United States.
This multinational standard is used by most European nations. International Shipping Policy. Self-Service Returns. Doesn't fit? Don't love it? Return any unused item within 90 days for a full refund. Start a Return Read our full Return Policy. Lowest Price, Guaranteed. Found it for less? Submit a Price Match. See what our customers are saying about us: Customer Reviews.
Zilla Cash Program. ZillaCash Silver. On top of that, the FMVSS standard also takes into account things like field of vision and helmet retention. Firstly, the manufacturers perform the certification tests themselves. Also, the DOT test puts a g limit on the transferred force. Established in after the rollover-induced death of race car driver Peter Snell, the non-profit is devoted to researching, testing, and developing new helmet safety standards. And that includes bike helmets. The Snell motorcycle helmet tests, unlike the DOT ones, are voluntary.
Snell uses more anvils with different shapes and drops the helmets from multiple heights instead of a single one. It also tests the visor and the chin-bar, not just the dome. Plus, instead of measuring the force of a single impact, Snell requires two. In essence, a motorcycle helmet with a Snell sticker is generally safer than one with just a DOT sticker, RideApart says.
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